Chapel tent



March 28, 1939.

Filed April 21, 1958 M. E. GOTTLIEB CHAPEL TENT 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

- BY MAX E. GOTTLIEB ATTORNEY.

arch 28, 1939. M. E. GQT TLIEB 2,151,908

CHAPEL TENT Filed April 21, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

Y MAX EQ GOTTLIEB ATTORNEY.

Patented Mar. 28, 1939 uNirEe stares PATENT 4 Claims.

This invention relates to chapel tents and particularly to the collapsible or folding type which is used at cemeteries during funeral services.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a shelter tent suitable for the purposes mentioned which will fold up compactly so as to be easily transported and yet be sturdy enough to withstand all sorts of inclement weather with out the aid of auxiliary and troublesome anchors,

I straps or guy ropes, and which possesses novel locking means for holding the sections in rigid position.

Another object is to provide a tent of the type mentioned, which is inexpensive to manufacture, is light in weight and which has an extensible and adjustable means to facilitate enlargement or contraction as needed to accommodate congregations of different sizes and to conform to irregular terrain.

A further object is to equip such tent with a framework, consisting of supports, brackets and connectors; that can be easily and quickly assembled and erected by one person without special tools or equipment and without the necessity of disfiguring the landscape or risk damaging neighboring property during its erection.

A still further object is to provide a tent structure with a foldable truss section that simplifies the erection of the frame and which frame is free of objectionable low hanging beams, braces or other interior obstructions.

These and other features of my invention are more fully set forth hereinafter, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which like parts are designated by like reference characters and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the tent with parts of the top and sides cut away to show the frame structure;

Figure 2 is a sectional side view of an end wall extended to form a mound cover;

Figure 3 is a View of the foldable arched truss which constitutes one of the features of this invention;

Figure 4 is an enlarged view of a section of one of the adjustable legs;

Figure 5 is a plan'view of a section of the folding arched truss, as it would appear when opened. The View is that of the distant left corher of the Figure 1;

Figure 6 is an elevation of the distant left corner as viewed along the lines 6-6 of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a plan view of the lower portion of the truss taken along the lines l'! of Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a side elevation of the distant left corner taken along the lines 88 of Figure 6;

Figure 9 is a top or plan view of an awning 5: bracket taken along the lines 9-9 of Figure 10;

Figure 10 is a side view of the bracket referred to in the above mention of Figure 9;

Figure 11 is a side View of a bow clamp taken along the lines HH of Figure 12;

Figure 12 is a front or inside view of the bow clamp shown in Figure 11;

Figure 13 is a top or plan view of parts of the roof section and particularly showing the fixture used to join a bow-member to the ridge-pole;

Figure 14 is a sectional view of the aforementioned fixture and an elevation of a part of a bow-member, showing particularly the method of joining thetwo parts together;

Figure 15 is an end sectional View of the ridgepole, fixture and a bow-member assembled, taken along the lines i5l5 of the Figure 13;

Figure 16 is an end sectional view of the ridgepole taken along the lines l6-l6 of the Figure 1'7; 5v

Figure 1'7 is a side view of the ridge pole re- 2 ferred to in the above mention of Figure 16, and particularly showing how short pieces are joined together to make one long ridge-pole;

Figure 18 is an end view of a side-pole taken along the lines l8l8 of the Figure 19;

Figure 19 is a side view of a side-pole referred to in the Figure 18, and also showing how the short side-poles are joined together;

Figure 20 is a top sectional View of a corner of an awning showing how the horizontal awning-rod is attached to the awning-arms. This View is taken along the lines 2U20 of the Figure 21; and

Figure 21 is a side end view of an awning-arm 49 and horizontal awning-rod, taken along the lines 2I-2l of Figure 20.

Indescribing this invention the parts and elements willbe enumerated and set forth in about the order they would be assembled for erection. 4,5:

Broadly, the parts could'be termed as first, the end-sections, which include the upright standards or legs and the folding arched trusses; second, the roof-section, which includes all the horizontal pieces, braces and attachments extending 50 The first of the above-mentioned parts, namely the end-sections consists of legs 3|, to which are removably attached flanges or feet 32. The feet have small holes 33, through which pins 34, are inserted to hold the legs 3|, upright and firmly to the earth.

In some instances where the ground is irregular or when the tent must be erected on a hill side, adjustable legs are used. These adjustable legs 3|a are simply telescopic arrangements of smaller pipes fitting inside larger ones and held in place by pins or screws. The drawing of Figure 1, shows adjustable legs 31a, at the forepart of the tent. The Figure 4, shows the construction in greater detail. The screw 35, being used to maintain the proper height. Ordinarily, two regular length legs 3| and adjustable legs 3|a will sufiice for any irregular ground surface as the relative positions of the legs 3| and am can be set adjacent to each other or obliquely as needed to make the roof section level and even all around.

A ioldable arched truss 3, is mounted across the tops of the legs 3| or 3|a to complete the end-section. The truss consists of left and right arch-member 36 and 35a respectivly; left and right beam-members 31 and 31a respectively; a ridge-pole fixture 38, to which the arch-members 36 and 36a are hinged; a sliding collar 39, to which the beam-members 31 and 37a are hinged; and corner fixtures 4|, to which the arch members 36 and 36a are hinged and to which the beam-members 31 and 37a are permanently fastened. To the ridge-pole fixture 38, there is permanently attached a spacing rod 42. This spacing rod 42, extends through the collar 39, and serves to brace the truss 3, and to properly space the said arch and truss members. The ridgepole fixture 38, is also provided with a socket 43 engageable with a part of the roof-section, which will be described later. The socket 43, projects horizontally at an angle of to the spacing rod 42 and to the arch-members 36 and 36a. The corner fixtures have sockets 43a and 43b. The socket 43a is engageable with the tops of the legs 3| or 3|a and the sockets 43b are engageable with parts of the roof-section.

A roof-section consists of two parallel sidepoles 44, and a ridge-pole 45 between and parallel to the side-poles 44, but not necessarily on the same horizontal plane with them. The ends of the ridge-pole 45 and the side-poles 44 fit into the sockets 43 and 43b respectively and connect the aforementioned end-sections at the fixtures 38 and 4| of the opened truss 3.

To further strengthen the structure and to complete the roof-section, left and right bowmembers 46 are connected to the ridge-pole 45 and the side-poles 44. The manner of attaching the bow-members 46, is clearly shown in the Figures 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15. Securely fastened to the ridge-pole 45, is a slotted sleeve 41. To the inside ends of the bow-members 46 there are attached tongues or S-shaped hooks 48, which engage the slots 49 of the sleeves 41. To the opposite or outside ends of the bow-members 46 there are fastened clamps 5|, which firmly engage or fastento the side-poles 44.

When assembling a roof-section, the side-poles 44 and the ridge-pole 45 are first set up, the end of a bow-member 46 having the S -shaped hook 48 is raised so that the hook 48 enters the slot 49, the bow-member 46 is dropped slightly and then swung downwardly as illustrated in the Figure 14 until the respective parts take the positions shown in Figures 13. and 15. The side-poles 44 are then sprung inward slightly and fastened to the bow-members 46 with the clamps 5|. Additional bow-members 46, and sleeves 41, can be provided as needed.

If it is necessary to extend the length of the tent, additional roof-sections can be inserted as illustrated in the Figure 1, where the characters 44a, 45a, 46a, 41a, 48a, 49a and 5|a represent supplemental or auxiliary side-poles, ridge-poles, bow-members, sleeve, hooks, slots and clamps heretofore described. The auxiliary side-poles 44a and ridge-pole 45a are equipped with an attachment means illustrated in the Figures 16, 17, 18, and 19. This extension means consists of a section of tube 52, riveted to one end of the poles 44a. and 45a, forming sockets into which the ends of poles 44 and 45 fit and are fastened. The sidepoles 44 and 44a, being slightly larger in diameter than the ridge-pole 45 or 45a, the connecting tube 52 has a Webb or fin 59 to serve as a brace or a reinforcement to prevent it from buckling. The corner fixtures 4| also are provided with webbs 59 for the same reason.

The awning-structure is attached to the legs 3| or 3|a as the case may be, by means of the bracket 53, to which the awning-arms 54 are hinged. The bracket 53, and an awning-arm 54 hinged thereto is particularly illustrated in the Figures 9 and 10. Between the unhinged'ends of the awning-arms there extends a horizontal awning rod 55. To facilitate attachment of the rod 55 to the arm 54, the end of the arm 54 is provided with a ring 56 through which the peg 51 on the end of the rod 55 projects; and to hold the peg 57 within the ring 56 and also to prevent it and the rod 55 from turning therein, the ring 56 and the peg 51 are drilled to receive the removable pin 58.

A feature of this invention and one of its advantages permits the bracket 53 and the arms 54 to be raised or lowered so that the awning-rod 55 can be extended or otherwise positioned so as not to interfere with adjacent buildings, tombstones, trees or other obstructions. The aforementioned parts can also be lowered to the position illustrated in the Figure 2 to form a mound cover. The fourth and last element of the invention consists of the over-spread. In the drawings it is shown as a canvas roof cover 6|, which includes the end and side valances 62. The canvas wall panels are used to form the vertical walls 63; the side awning 63a of Figure 1, and the inclined side of the mound cover 63?) shown in Figure 2. Enough material is provided for any arrangement, and the excess is rolled up on the awningrod 55. When the mound cover is required, two triangular sides or flaps 630, are attached to the panel 635. This is particularly desirable in rainy weather to prevent the freshly dug earth becoming muddy and unsightly as well as to prevent the newly dug grave from filling with water. These flaps 630 could also be made a part of the panel 63b and merely folded or rolled up on the rod 55 when not needed. With this construction, any of the walls may be paneled as desired; the awnings may be extended outwardly from the ends instead of from the side as illustrated; or the tent can be lengthened 0r shortened or otherwise set up to accommodate any size congregation, ground or surroundings.

roof cover 6| and the Wall panels 63, 63a, 63b and 630 are provided with buttonholes or eyelets, and likewise the tent frame including all the legs 3|, arch-members 36 and 36a, beammembers 31 and 31a, ridge-pole fixtures 38, collars 39, corner fixtures 4|, side-poles 44 and 44a, clamps 5| and 5m, tubes 52 and awning brackets 53 are equipped with buttons or hooks to engage the buttonholes or eyelets. There is nothing particularly novel about buttonholes or eyelets and hence they are not illustrated, but in order to complete the description, the buttons are shown and are designated by the character 64 in the drawings. 7

The awning-rod 55 is also used to hold the wall panel 63 in place at the bottom, and the legs 3| or Sla have holes 65 and 66 to receive the pegs 5'! and the pins 58. This is clearly shown in the Figures 1 and 4.

Finally, in order to hold the parts constituting the frame work together, the various socket members, brackets, collars and tubes are provided with means to firmly hold the inserted pipes, poles, sections or members. Any suitable method may be employed, but in the drawings all the holding means are illustrated as screws 35, having conventional knurled heads for convenience for manipulation. I

It will now be clear from the foregoing description and accompanying drawings, that I have provided a chapel tent with collapsible, inexpensive and portable frame structure, which may be quickly and easily erected or dismantled without the employment of special tools or equipment; one which is sturdy and rigid and yet does not contain objectionable interior obstructions; and which fully accomplishes the objects of the invention.

Furthermore, while I have described the invention in its preferred form and while certain specific terms and language has been used, it is to be understood that the embodiment of the in vention as described is merely illustrative and it is to be considered in any limiting sense, as various changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, as no limitations upon the said invention are intended other than those imposed by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a tent, a folding truss, comprising in combination, a downwardly foldable beam, a downwardly foldable arch, a vertical spacing rod pivoted to the beam and the arch, and corner fixtures for joining the ends of the beam and the arch, the said corner fixtures having means for attachment to vertical legs and horizontal roofsections.

2. In a tent, a roof-section, comprising in combination, a ridge-pole, a slotted sleeve on the ridge-pole, side-poles parallel to the ridge-pole, and bow-members having a first means at one of their ends for engaging the slotted sleeve and a second means on the opposite ends for attachment to the side-poles.

3. In a tent, an extendable roof-section, comprising in combination, two parallel and horizontal side-poles, a ridge-pole parallel to and between the side-poles, a sleeve having longitudinal slots permanently attached to the ridgepole, right and left bow-members extending transversely from the side-poles to the ridge-pole, tongues on the said bow-members for temporary engagement with the slots in the sleeve, clamps on the said bow-members for temporary attachment to the side-poles, and separate extension means on the side-poles and the ridge-pole for temporarily attaching thereto additional sidepoles and ridge-poles together with their respective bow-members.

4. A ridge-bracket having a horizontal socket, a vertical spacing rod attached to the ridgebracket, a collar slidable on the spacing rod, corner fixtures having horizontal sockets and downwardly extending vertical sockets, archmembers hinged to both the corner fixtures and the ridge-bracket, and beam-members attached to the corner fixtures and hinged to the slidable collar, whereby upon folding the said collar slides upward on the spacing rod while the archmembers and the beam-members fold downward.

MAX E. GOTTLIEB. 

